Truth Be Told
by regalfangirl
Summary: Emma has persuaded Regina to tell Henry that she is his adoptive mother. As the truth is told, their son jumps to a conclusion none of them had foreseen. Set in 3x13.


**My own version of how I think this scene should have went, which means the story contains actual lines from the show at first, but the outcome is different. I do not claim to own any of the first lines. These belong to Once Upon a Time.**

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Regina stood awkwardly at the top of the stairs leading to Mary Margaret's apartment. She put her hand on Emma's shoulder and the blonde turned around to face her. Emma looked questioning into Regina's chocolate brown eyes as the brunette parted her lips to talk in an uneven voice:

"Maybe this isn't a good idea," she said with a little shake of her head.

"It's going to be fine," Emma assured the brunette, "trust me."

Regina looked skeptically back at Emma. As much as she wanted to trust her, their relationship was still in a complicated grey area and neither one of them seemed to be able to define it. Were they friends? Were they merely sharing custody of Henry? Regina had searched her mind for an answer multiple times without getting any closer to some sort of explanation to what exact kind of relationship she shared with the woman that was Emma Swan. At this moment she couldn't even use Henry as an explanation for their relationship – he didn't remember her. He had no clue as to who she really was. That she was Regina Mills, his adoptive mother, the woman who had changed every diaper, soothed every fever and endured every tantrum. The curse had ripped all those memories from Henry, along with every memory of any kind of fantastical fairy tale he once knew to be true. He was now like any other boy from this realm, with no knowledge of the land where he really belonged. Of course he now knew nothing of the terrible things Regina had done as the Evil Queen, which she, if she was honest with herself, was quite pleased with. But even if she didn't want him to know her as the Evil Queen, she still wanted him to _know _her. This was the reason she now followed Emma into the small apartment where Henry was sitting on the couch playing the video game he always carried around with him. Regina sighed. This was not the Henry she knew. She knew him as the boy who would sit up for hours with his face buried in a book, preferably the one with all the tales of the Enchanted Forest. And even though she was the one who had installed his fake identity when she stopped Pan's curse, she still felt tears prick her eyes at the thought of her lost little boy. This had been Emma's idea, as generous and welcoming as she had been to Regina ever since she and Henry had returned to Storybrooke. But now Regina questioned if it was going to end in anything but total chaos. Mary Margaret was standing at the kitchen counter, frozen in place as she glanced nervously at Henry, then locked eyes with Regina. Regina's eyes darted around the apartment trying to avoid Mary Margaret's questioning gaze. She gave an awkward smile as her eyes fell to the floor and she closed the door. Emma walked over to Henry, approaching her son with a little caution.

"Hey… how was your day?" Emma asked a little nervously, hoping Henry wouldn't notice.

"Good," Henry replied rising from the couch, "Storybrooke is a weird place. But cool, " he added as he walked over to his mother. Emma's laugh came out a little tense and Henry continued.

"Did you know there's a library inside a clock tower?" Henry asked, frowning.

Emma wrapped an arm around her son's back, leading him towards Regina as she replied, "I do, I've been there before, come here I want you to meet someone," she rushed out in one breath as she lead Henry to a stop in front of Regina.

"This is Regina Mills. She's the mayor of this town and… she wanted... to meet you," Emma started off with uncertainty. She hadn't thought this all the way through. How do you tell a kid that the mother he _thinks _he has spent his whole life with is really the mother who gave him up for adoption? And that this woman now standing before him is the adoptive mother who actually raised him? Emma looked at Regina who was staring anxiously at Henry. The poor woman looked traumatized. Emma questioned whether or not this was a good idea. She looked back at Henry who gave her a confused look before he spoke once again.

"Is something wrong?" he asked as he looked back and forth between the two women.

Emma and Regina's eyes locked hard as both their hearts started galloping. Regina was the first one to speak.

"No, no, no, nothing's wrong… Your… mother just told me a lot about you," she paused as she looked hopefully at Henry who just furrowed his brows, "I hear you like school. And that you're good at English." She smiled at her confused son standing before her, as she played with her hands, not sure how to continue. Henry's frown deepened as he shifted on his feet, unable to make sense of this situation.

"Uhm… yeah…" he said before looking to his mother with a perplexed expression on his face, then turning his gaze back to Regina, "Why'd she tell you all this?" he asked.

Regina parted her lips as if to say something but no words came out. She gnawed on her bottom lip and looked down at the floor. The silence grew between the three of them and Regina worried Henry might hear how her heart was throbbing against her ribcage, threatening to jump out of her throat at any second. She cursed Emma inwardly for ever having this idea, as she tried to suck in a steadying breath, but nothing seemed to ease her nerves. She felt Henry's burning gaze as she continued to look down at the floor. She suddenly felt Emma's strong arm around her shoulders and her head jerked up to lock gazes with the blonde now looking at her with nothing but concern. Emma gave a little nod before turning her attention to Henry. Regina felt a shiver creep down her spine.

"Uhm, kid…" Emma began, squeezing Regina's shoulders reassuringly before continuing, "There's a very good reason why I told Regina. But you have to promise me that you wont freak out when I tell you, okay?" Emma asked, her face scrunching in an uncomfortable expression. She felt Regina's hand reach up to where her arm was wrapped around the brunette's shoulders, grabbing her hand tightly. Emma looked at Regina out of the corner of her eye but maintained her focus on Henry. He simply nodded in confusion.

"Okay then…" Emma released herself from the tight grip of the brunette and grabbed both Henry's hands in her own. She looked at him for a long moment before closing her eyes and sucking in a deep breath.

"Regina is your adoptive mother," she rushed out in an almost inaudible voice. She could hear Regina's breath catch in her throat behind her. She couldn't begin to imagine how the brunette felt. Henry had sure enough heard her as he stared at his birth mother, his eyes threatening to fall out of their sockets. He stared at her for what seemed like years, his eyes mirroring the wild chaos in his mind. When he finally opened his mouth to say something, none of the two women had foreseen what he was about to say:

"Why did you break up?"

Every drop of blood left Emma's face and she went pale. She gaped at her son, dropped his hands and took a tentative step backwards, bumping into Regina. The brunette didn't take notice, as she merely stared at her son with an almost horrified expression. Regina had been holding her breath for minutes and her lungs were burning, but she seemed unable to make even the simplest of actions. She felt as if her heart had stopped. Emma blinked once, twice, before turning slowly and facing Regina, their faces only inches apart. Their expressions were mirrored as they continued to stare at each other. Regina looked into deep pools of emerald green and she felt Emma's hot breath creep over her face as the blonde breathed through her open mouth. Regina felt herself shutter. Both women stood perfectly still, none of them anything but oblivious to what they should make of their son's words. It seemed like neither of them was going to say anything until Emma narrowed her eyes ever so slightly as a thought occurred to her. _Wait a minute_. If Henry was to have any kind of relationship with Regina without them going into detail and risk the mentioning of certain fairy tales and magic, then this might not be a horrible way to accomplish just that. Emma gave Regina an almost sly smile before turning to face Henry and answering his question with as much conviction in her voice as she could manage:

"Because I fell in love with Walsh."

Henry seemed to accept that answer as he nodded almost to himself before locking eyes with his mother. Emma was ripped from his gaze before getting a chance to continue, as Regina grabbed her wrist and dragged her across the apartment towards the door. Once she'd slammed the door shut she turned to look at Emma with both confusion and fury in her eyes.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?!" she hushed in the quietest of yells she could possibly manage.

"What else do you suggest?" Emma asked a little offended, "He jumped to that conclusion because it's what makes most sense to him! We might as well play along and avoid any fairy tale crap slipping out. He doesn't know any better, Regina."

Emma crossed her arms in defense and pinned the brunette with a knowing glare. She watched as Regina processed this information thoroughly, her perfectly sculptured brows furrowing deeply. Regina shook her head and sighed heavily before looking at Emma with surrender dancing across her features.

"So what do you suggest we do now?" Regina asked, trying to bring some of the Evil Queen into her voice and failing miserably.

Emma smiled and reached for the door.

"We tell our son the story of our love."


End file.
